"Where are we going Vim? Shouldn't we be heading around that mountain instead?" I asked as I stared up at the looming peak. It was covered in white, and looked even more snow covered than it had last time we had come this way.

"We should be, yes. Your memory scares me. We're making a small detour," he said.

"Oh…? Another hidden home?" I asked, becoming a little excited.

Maybe this time it'd not smell like that pit.

But even if it did I was going to do everything I could to ignore it. To not let him notice.

So that hopefully…

"No. Just a small piece of nature I wanted to share with you," he said as he glanced at me.

Frowning at him, and what he'd said, I wondered what he planned on showing me in this dense forest.

A piece of nature…? Maybe it was something interesting like that cave, then.

Although I enjoyed being alone with him, and even more so was interested in all he had to show me… I honestly wanted to get to Lellip's as soon as possible. Not only did I want to see my friend, and Vim's friend, I also wanted to see their new baby. Plus, I wanted to see if Lilly was still there. I wanted to talk to her about something and…

"Hm…?" I slowed as we neared a strange looking plant.

Or…

Vim slowed as well, turning to watch me as I walked up to the thing. "Is it a flower…?" I asked as I stared at the thing that was nearly as tall as me.

It had a thick, but in comparison to other things its height, thin stalk. It looked slightly prickly, and had leaves and other stuff upon it… but the thing that drew the eye was what it was blossoming at the top of it. The flower itself.

A ring of golden yellow, larger than my head.

"It's called a sunflower. For many reasons. They're why we're coming this way," Vim said as I studied the thing.

"Because it looks like the sun?" I asked. It had a center spot of darkness, but the rest of its pretty flower part was a large circle of yellow. Though some of the tips of its outer petals were greenish, maybe this one was still growing? Or wilting already?

"And because they usually face the sun. Or at least, so they are rumored to… but they do not. They become fixed after a certain point," Vim said.

"Fixed…?" I asked. Did… did he mean they moved? Like, got up and walked around or something?

"The head, this part. When they're young, growing, they sometimes turn towards the sun throughout the day. But it's only a little bit, and doesn't last long," he explained with a point at the large yellow flower at top.

Oh. That made a lot more sense. I felt a little silly for thinking they'd have actually moved.

Stepping back a bit from it, as to get a look at the whole thing… I felt slightly awed again.

The world really did have lots of things, didn't it?

I mean, it was just a flower. One of countless. But it was so different than usual ones. So big, and oddly shaped…

"Come on. The field should be near," he said.

Field…? "Of these things?" I asked as I went to follow him. I kept my eyes on the sunflower as we left it behind, and I wondered if I could take it and plant it somewhere else.

That thing near a home, or rather near a window of said home, would be wonderful. It'd be pretty to look at while sitting at a table drinking tea, or from my bed.

"You know Vim I think that's the biggest flower I've ever seen. I didn't even know they could get that big," I said as I followed him far enough that the sunflower left our sight, getting hidden by trees.

Before I could feel bad about it, another came into view. This one was half the size of the other.

I hurried past Vim to go up to it, and smiled at the smaller version of the other one. It was…

"It looks almost exactly the same, Vim," I said as I stared at it. Other than some of the petals being a little different in size and their locations…

"Hm?" Vim stepped up next to me as I studied the thing. I compared it to the one I'd just seen, in my memories.

"It's the same shape and style. I think it even has the same number of petals, though they're slightly different in size and also not in the exact same locations. Though that might just be because it's not as fully grown," I said, pointing at it as I concluded such a thing.

"Well… aren't all flowers practically the same?" he asked.

"Hm… I guess. Maybe I just figured they'd be different, being so big," I said.

He was right. Most did grow rather similarly, at least of the same types. Why had I found it so odd, I wonder?

What had I noticed? Why had my first instinct upon seeing this one been of comparing the differences, and thus notice the lack of them?

I pondered it for a bit, but decided there was no point to it. I must have just seen something that piqued my interest.

"Are there a lot of them here, Vim?" I asked.

"Yes. You'll see."

Good. Maybe I can find a few that are about to wilt, or have fallen over or something. I'd like to carry them around for a bit, I kind of liked their smell. It wasn't anywhere as strong as most flowers, even though so big, and it was kind of soothing. It was an earthy scent, which somewhat reminded me of home.

Vim stepped away, and I followed him. It didn't take long for more of the yellow flowers to appear, of varying sizes. I noticed that most of them did seem to face one direction, but there were slight differences to the exact angle. That angle wasn't towards the sun though.

"Why aren't they everywhere Vim? I've never even seen them at any of the markets or anything. Something so big would sell well there," I said.

"They're not native to this land. This area used to be where a monarch lived, one that had cultivated them. Its creator, the god that made it, had liked them," Vim said.

Oh…?

"Wait… so they're only here? Nowhere else?" I asked. Surely not, right?

Vim though nodded. "Yes. At least on this continent, as far as I'm aware."

A little stunned at that, I slowed as we passed a grouping of them. Most were my height, but a few were half the size and only came up to Vim's knee. I studied them for a moment, wondering how it was they all still existed.

If a monarch had tended them… then they surviving for a long time made sense. No one would be able to have cut them down or anything with such a monster defending them, but… that had to have been years ago! Maybe even decades or centuries.

They were far too interesting to have avoided human's attention. Or anyone's, really.

"How are they all still left alone, Vim?" I asked carefully as I picked up my pace. He had gotten a bit ahead of me since I had slowed to study the things again.

"This area is not one traveled often, Renn. It's near a ravine, and then that mountain range. Most people who traverse this way use the bridge and path north of the Smithy, it's the safest way… and really the fastest too. There's not much south of here for a long ways, so no point to come this way. Basically it's still somewhat uncharted land, for humans at least," Vim said.

Was it…? It had only taken us a few days to get here from the small village that Planci and her husband lived in. And from what I could tell we were only two or so days from Lellip's home from here too. Which meant Lumen was only a few days over those mountains, from what I could tell.

"Humans of this era don't really remember our kind, or monarchs. But they do still have the stories and legends. Look at what happened in Lumen. That will spark generational legends and tales, to foster fear and carefulness. Humans used to not venture too deep into forests or mountains, out of fear of what they'd find in them. They feared encountering those like yourself, or your ancestors I guess," Vim explained.

Slowing a little, my ears twitched a little wildly as I realized how right he was.

"You're right…! Humans are like that…! Some still don't even go out in the dark, because they're scared," I said. I've met many who were like that. I couldn't count how many villages and small farm towns I'd passed through when younger, doing so during the night because no one had been willing to dare the darkness. It was how I sometimes was able to find clothes and stuff, because I'd steal them from forgotten baskets or drying lines.

Thinking of those memories hurt, since it made me feel horrible. I quickly decided to spend a moment later to remember each house I'd stolen from during that time of my life, and see if I could somehow repay them. It has been so long they were likely long dead, the ones I'd stolen from, but their descendants wouldn't be. Maybe I could leave a few coins on their door-front's or something.

"Indeed. Haven't you noticed while we travel how quiet the roads get? Look at all the people we pass at night on the main roads, what with them setting up camp and stuff," Vim said.

I nodded quickly as I did indeed remember the many we've passed. He was right. And he was likely also correct that it was because they feared the dark… or at least, what they'd find within it.

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

To them we were monsters. And in a sense our ancestors, the monarchs especially, were! So of course they'd be hesitant to venture into places that might hide those such as we!

It was so obvious. How had I never really realized it before…? Was it because I was one of those said monsters? Because I wasn't scared of the dark? Because I knew there weren't actually monsters such as that?

Or well… no. I couldn't say that. There were monsters out there. Like those things in Lumen. Or monarchs… or…

Glancing at Vim, I frowned at him.

"Here we are," Vim then said, before I could talk more about this odd revelation I was having.

The trees thinned, but the greenery didn't. Rather it did, but it had simply made way for the yellow.

I slowed a little as I took in the sight of not just hundreds, if not thousands, of sunflowers… but one that towered over all the rest.

In the center of the field of sunflowers, was a tree. A tree that had a huge circle of yellow on top of it.

"Um…" I wasn't sure what to say as I stared up at the huge sunflower. It was as tall as some of the trees nearby, and they were huge. Old. Towering.

But its height wasn't what made it seem truly huge. It was the massive flower. The orb of yellow was so big it made me feel a little unsure of myself. It looked big enough that if it collapsed and fell upon me, it'd squish me without question. It was so big it was casting a deep shadow over most of the field, as if a giant umbrella.

"Neat isn't it? They can grow massive, naturally, but this one is an anomaly," Vim said next to me.

I nodded. "Anomaly?" I asked. I figured the meaning meant unique, thanks to how he had said it, but I wanted to be sure.

"In this case the word meant irregular. An oddity or rarity. The thing is non-standard, it shouldn't be possible for such a flower to grow to such height and size. It is likely the only of its kind and the only one that ever will be," he explained.

I nodded again, glad that I had basically understood his meaning just from hearing it.

"Basically all the little sunflowers you see here, the normal ones, are its children. Every so often I come here and find them all dead and withered, from either weather or disease, then I come back and it's like this. The huge one isn't just big, it's sturdy. They usually need supports to grow big. But it's to be expected from a god's creation, they break the rules of normalcy," Vim said with a sigh.

"A god made it?" I asked, glancing at him as I did.

He nodded. "Yes. As I said. A monarch used to protect it. Yes, I killed it. Yes, I leave the sunflower alone and yes I know my rules contradict themselves you need not say it," Vim said.

I smiled at him. "I was indeed going to ask why you'd kill the monarch but not destroy the flower, if you hate the creations of gods so much why is it you let some be, Vim?" I asked.

"Because the flower doesn't harm anything. One could argue it affects the forest around it, absorbing nutrients and whatnot, but to me that's not a justifiable reason to destroy it. The monarch however had been. It killed anything that came close to the flower. And it was not willing to join the Society and abide by the rules so I ended it," Vim said.

Hm… I wonder what kind of monarch it had been. Must have been able to communicate at least, from the way Vim was talking about it.

Stepping forward, I hesitated a moment as I neared the first batch of sunflowers in the field.

They were taller than me.

"It's safe Renn," Vim said next to me, he had kept pace with me.

"I'm sure… I was going to go up to the big one, but now I wonder if there's any point. They're so big they'll block the view, and even when I get up near it… it'll just be like looking up a huge tree, won't it?" I asked as I studied its… what? Stalk? Trunk?

It looked like a giant tree. Though it had what looked like fuzz or something all over it. Plus it had giant leaves up and down it, not actual branches… though some of the leave's stems looked huge enough to be branches.

Vim chuckled at me. "Would you like me to carry you to its top? It's sturdy enough we can go on top of it if you'd like," Vim offered.

Although the offer was lovely, and a part of me wanted to accept… I slowly shook my head. "No… let's leave it be. Can I pluck one, Vim?" I asked as I stepped over to the closest one. One that looked fully grown, without any green on its petals.

"Take as many as you like. I planned to gather some up anyway," he said.

"Hm…? What for?" I asked. He wanted some of these flowers…?

"Couple reasons. Firstly, I figured a batch would be a good gift to Pram, they're unique and their home is close enough that if planted properly they might just grow and thrive as they do here," he said as he went to undoing one of the bags he carried.

My eyes went wide as I turned to look at him. "Right! Yes! They would be lovely gifts!" I said happily.

Why hadn't I thought of that! He was right, he had mentioned it before! That it was common for a newlywed couple to give gifts to those who had supported them!

Plus it would be nice to give gifts anyway… I rarely got to do such a thing…!

"Have you given her some before?" I asked as I watched Vim put the bag he had just taken off down to the ground and open it. He rummaged in it for a moment before pulling out a large cloth, one I didn't recognize. When'd he get it? It almost looked like a thin brown blanket. I didn't remember such a thing in his bag, which was funny since I had packed it for him.

"I've given gifts over the years, yes. But not these. I've never given anyone sunflowers before. Like I said they're not natural here. I try not to… mess with anything that's not natural. I may be a hypocrite but I try not to be such a brazen one as that. Here, let's dig up a few," Vim said as he laid the cloth down on the ground, flat.

Ah. He wanted to put them in the cloth so he could wrap them. To keep them safe and easy to carry.

"Yeah!" I happily agreed as I pulled out one of the little knives Vim had given me a long time ago. I joined Vim, digging into the ground with the knife as we gathered up half a dozen of the huge flowers.

As I dug at the roots though, even while being very careful to not harm the plant too much, I found it was likely not going to go well.

"Vim… their roots are deep," I said worriedly. It made sense, with the flowers being so huge, but even when I dug what I assumed was deep enough I still didn't find the typical bundle of roots one found when digging up such plants. The lack of them right beneath the flower told me it was deeper, deeper than I was digging for.

"Yes. Odds are they won't survive. It's fine, it's the thought that counts. Plus, as I said, it's just the first reason we're gathering them up," he said.

"Hm? You have another plan for them? Are they good for tea or something?" I asked as I placed one of the flowers I'd uprooted onto the cloth, joining the three others Vim had already placed there.

He chuckled at me. "I honestly don't know if they make decent tea or not. No. We're after their seeds. These," Vim said as he pointed to the center of one of the flowers with his knife.

"Ah… those are the seeds?" I asked as I stepped up to one that was just the height for me to draw close to it.

Sure enough I could see what he meant. I touched them, finding them hard.

"We're lucky. They're about to wither. They make a good snack, you'll see," he said with a nod.

Studying the flower, I wonder how he could tell. Was it just the colors of the petals around the dark center? The tint of yellow? Or maybe it was the seeds themselves… some were really dark, while others were starting to yellow themselves. Or maybe they were yellow before they became darker in color?

I smiled as we finished gathering up the flowers, Vim began to gather up some of the flowers themselves. He cut the giant orbs of yellow off from the top, about a hand's width below at the stalk, and tossed them onto the pile of other flowers.

While he did so I went ahead and cut one as he had. Instead of putting it onto the cloth though I kept it, as to smell and hold it for a while.

After smelling it for a moment… I went ahead and a took a bite of one of the golden petals.

Vim had said these things were a snack, so I was sure it was fine to eat. But as I chewed it, I realized it tasted just like most other flower petals I'd eaten before.

Once finished Vim tied up the cloth, carefully. He picked the bag he had gotten the cloth from back up, putting it on his back, and then lifted the bundle of flowers to his shoulder. As if it was a great burden to carry.

Vim turned to look at me, and I smiled at the way he frowned at me. "Are you… chewing a flower?" Vim asked.

I nodded as I grinned. "It's not very tasty, but it's not gross either," I told him in-between chews.

He sighed softly at me. "If you try to take a bite of the seeds, be careful. They're in shells, and they're not dried out yet properly. So they likely won't be tasty or even easy to eat," he warned me.

"Ah… m'kay," I nodded quickly, since I had indeed been about to take a bite of that stuff too.

"Hm. Well? Would you like to sit here for a bit or shall we continue?" he asked.

Oh.

I glanced at the field of gold, and then looked up to the giant flower looming over it all. As if it was a sun.

Dedicating them all to memory, I slowly nodded. "We can go. We really shouldn't linger, Vim. We have things to do," I said.

"Okay that's just creepy. How come you know I'm trying to waste time?" he asked.

Giggling at him, I went ahead and took another bite of a petal. I chewed on it for a moment as I nodded and went to step towards him, so he could lead us back onto our proper path. "I noticed it while in Telmik. You wanted to hurry, to rush to Lumen and confront Light… yet didn't. And you kept making excuses, in a way, to not do so. We spent over a week there after the monarch died, waiting for something to happen. I think you knew we could have left not long after, but didn't want to admit it," I told him.

Vim had also seemed to build that dock for the quails rather slowly too. He had added a bunch of other stuff, like a small boat, for them as well. Even though that had not been a request of theirs. Vim was a good man, and gentle in many ways, but even he usually didn't go that far for people. Which only further told me that he was trying to not rush us to confront Light.

He didn't want to confront her. Even though he knew he had to.

It was… Very Vim. A man of rules, who was usually swift to act… but also gentle beyond belief.

I knew that Vim likely didn't want to hurt, let alone kill, Light. Celine's daughter. She was someone he had promised to protect, after all. And not just because she was a member of the Society.

Vim turned, leading me around the field of sunflowers as we started to head towards the mountain in the distance. Almost the same direction we'd just come from, nearly.

"Am I that easy for you to read now, Renn?" Vim asked me gently.

I shrugged at him. "Kind of, Vim. For some things, at least," I told him honestly.

He hummed at that.

Taking another bite of a petal, I tilted my head a moment as I realized something important.

"Vim," I got his attention.

He glanced at me, raising an eyebrow as he waited for what I had to ask.

"The flowers. Will you ruin their smell? While carrying them?" I asked.

His raised eyebrow lowered as he frowned… and then he sighed and nodded. "Yes. Since we're about a day and a half away," he admitted as he slowed.

I smiled as I gestured for him to give me them. "I'll carry them, then. Trust me, giving a woman a bunch of flowers that don't have a smell won't go well," I said.

"No doubt…" Vim agreed as he took the sunflower I carried from me, and then handed me the bundle he had been carrying. He did so by putting it on my shoulder for me, and holding it there until I got it situated properly.

Smiling a little as I steadied the bundle, I was glad to find it wasn't too heavy. I'd not be bothered by it… though…

Glancing behind me, at the spear that was pushing harshly into the bundle, I worried for it. Its tip, though wrapped in a small cloth, wasn't far from the bundle. If I wasn't careful…

Then the spear shifted, slipping away as Vim took it from me.

"Hey…" I complained as Vim undid the wrap on the spear, freeing it from the holster it sat in.

"Just while you carry those, Renn. I'm not taking it from you, I promise," he said.

"You better not be."

He nodded… as I noticed the way he shifted the spear, holding it in his left hand next to him.

Studying him for a moment, I dedicated the way he held it to memory.

He suddenly looked like a soldier.

"What?" he asked, noticing my look.

"Nothing… let's go then, before I eat them all," I said as I turned as to return to walking.

He chuckled at me, and then suddenly was offering me something. Something yellow.

Smiling at the petal he had plucked and proffered, I went ahead and ate it from his hand.

While chewing on it, I happily hummed as we left the field of golden flowers behind.

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